Kettleborough Venture Capital initiates initial funding round for its second early-stage investment fund
Kettleborough VC, a venture capital firm founded by Nisarg Shah in 2021, has announced the launch of its second fund, Fund II, with a target corpus of Rs 80 crore. The investment strategy for this fund remains focused on finding the right fit between founders and their markets, and ensuring execution readiness, with a preference for experienced founders who have a decade or more of expertise in specific domains.
Fund II will maintain a sector-agnostic stance but will show a particular interest in companies operating in financial services, full-stack commerce, and software platforms. The firm plans to invest in approximately 10 companies, writing initial cheques of $300,000–$500,000 and reserving funds for follow-on investments.
Kettleborough VC's first fund, which closed in late 2022, backed 12 startups, including Zippmat, InPrime, Finhaat, Elivaas, and Sumosave. The firm has already demonstrated a clear product-market fit (PMF) with a return of nearly 2x (MOIC) in about three years from the final close. Several portfolio companies from Fund I have also raised follow-on rounds from marquee investors like Z47, Omnivore, Lightspeed, 3one4 Capital, and Bessemer.
Nisarg Shah, the founder and general partner at Kettleborough VC, has achieved over 10 exits in his personal investment career, and Kettleborough VC was the first institutional backer for nine of the startups it supported in Fund I. The firm is preparing for its first set of exits from Fund I in the coming months.
The first close of Fund II has already received Rs 35 crore in commitments from family offices and successful entrepreneurs across India and the US. Kettleborough VC is looking to close the first few investments from the second fund in the coming weeks.
With its strategic approach to investing and a proven track record, Kettleborough VC is poised to continue its support for promising Indian startups, providing them with the necessary capital and guidance to grow and succeed.
Kettleborough VC's second fund, Fund II, will invest in companies operating in financial services, full-stack commerce, and software platforms, expanding its business scope in the sector-agnostic stance. The firm plans to write initial cheques of $300,000–$500,000 for approximately 10 companies, demonstrating an interest in experienced founders who have a decade or more of expertise, as seen in the successful exits from Kettleborough VC's first fund.
